Canadian Al-Jazeera journalist Fahmy released from prison

CAIRO – Canadian Al-Jazeera journalist Mohamed Fahmy was released from an Egyptian jail today, after spending more than a year in prison on terror-related charges in a case that was denounced as a sham by rights groups and the international community. He was let out pending a retrial.

Fahmy’s brother tweeted that he posted $33,000 bail following a court decision that allowed him to walk free. It was not clear if Fahmy’s colleague, Al-Jazeera journalist Baher Mohammed, also was being released. A third co-worker, Australian Peter Greste, was released two weeks ago and deported to his home-country, Australia.

Fahmy spent more than 400 days in detention after he was charged with terrorism for providing the Muslim Brotherhood, now declared a terrorist organization, with a platform. His next court hearing is Feb. 23 and he has to check in at a police station every day until then.

Thursday’s decision indicated the court was moving ahead with a retrial of Fahmy and Mohammed. Still, it was greeted with tears of joy and relief by their relatives who attended the hearing in the Cairo courtroom.

Al-Jazeera called the decision “a small step in the right direction,” but said the court should dismiss “this absurd case” and release both journalists unconditionally.

The three journalists, who worked for Al-Jazeera’s English-language channel, were arrested December 2013 and accused of belonging to the Brotherhood, which was branded a terrorist organization after the military ousted President Mohammed Morsi earlier that year.

Since the ouster, Egypt has been cracking down heavily on Morsi’s supporters, and the journalists were accused of being mouthpieces for the Brotherhood and falsifying footage to suggest that Egypt faces civil war.

The journalists were convicted by a lower court on terrorism-related charges and sentenced to at least seven years in prison. The Court of Cassation said in ordering a retrial their conviction was based on “flawed evidence.”